I made the forum inaccessible to unregistered lurkers or posters who haven't at least posted a few times. Wanted to make sure people who read this stuff had shown at least the commitment to post once in a while. Please add your name to the Convention Roll Call thread to be officially counted.

Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

carpetbegger, it never happened. Essentially, Chase kept moving the date forward and, towards the end, I got the feeling that it was more an imposition than anything to try and pin him down (although that was never stated to me directly). So I dropped it. I may revive it at some point, but my personal enthusiasm had waned so much in that first year after the finale that I wasn't inclined to really press things.

Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

After posting the "today in history" marking the 4th anniversary of the final episode, it's finally motivated me to broach the subject of a crazy idea I’ve had for a while. Not too long ago I read through the old posts in this thread and was amazed at how close you came to actually pulling this off. I remember when you were tackling the idea but must have missed some of your posts that described your connections to Chase and he not only considering it but coming very close to pulling it off. Wow, that would have been something. I also really got a kick out of DH's comment about how it would make a great addition to a box set having a closed meeting with Chase and his strongest fan base included. He was ahead of his time with that post as any viewing of the big box set released around Xmas that year (or was it the year after), it's easy to imagine it on the disc instead of the dinner conversation that eventually was.

So with all the above in mind, and the 5th anniversary a year away, how crazy would it be to consider trying it again? With no other Sopranos apparently on the way, HBO's has to be considering some kind of commemoration with some sort of package release. What better addition to that package then Chase finally answering some questions to an intelligent and inform group of Sopranos fans that only this site could provide. I know interest may be starting to wane (this may be the slowest I’ve ever seen the site), but at the very least it would generate a little excitement here and at the most, Sopranos nirvana.

Anyway, if I didn't bring it up now, I may never have. I've spent too many hours here the last few years and the website has meant too much to me not to. Don't completely dismiss the idea without looking back at this thread.

Bloodshot, it's funny you bring this up now because I recently thought about our aborted gathering and whether circumstances would ever lead us to revive the effort at some point. This thought occurred in connection with a visit I made to NY for a few days at the end of April/beginning of May. While there, I took the opportunity to have lunch with Jason Minter at the cafe he now runs at the extreme north end of Manhattan. (Among its notable features is that the table and chairs are the very same table and chairs that used to adorn the set of Artie Bucco's restaurant.)

It was a very enjoyable meeting. Jason shared some wonderful anecdotes of his time with the show and absolutely floored me with a few unexpected and extremely generous Sopranos-related gifts. Were my personal life not in such upheaval right now, I would certainly have already posted about the lunch and included pictures of the gifts, but I just haven't been "myself" lately, and my priorities are firmly in other areas.

My impression is that Jason still has frequent contact with Chase, but he (Jason) really wanted out of the film business after the Sopranos and so is no longer serving as Chase's personal assistant. He told me he did some work on the pilot for Boardwalk Empire, but that was his last film involvement. He devotes himself these days to the cafe and to trying to make it a success in a very tough economic climate for young businesses.

I still have a spoof script I wrote and intended to film for the gathering that I think is pretty funny. I recorded a special musical track (my undergraduate degree was in music) to accompany it, and I've toyed with whether I ought to just upload the soundtrack here since it doesn't look like I'll ever film the script it was intended to accompany. But maybe I'll hold out a while longer in hope that someday the impetus will arise to do the whole thing "right".

I do think a gathering would be immensely enjoyable for all involved, and I'm sure Jason would do what he could to facilitate Chase's involvement. But because of something I'm going through right now (which reaches back 2 years and has intensely dominated my life for the last 18 months), I just don't have it in me to organize and coordinate it and otherwise devote my utmost passion and creativity to making it all it should be. If that changes, I won't hesitate to come back to this thread, though.

Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

Ditto on the personal stuff-please take care of yourself. I know you've eluded to personal challanges the last several months so they are a priority. Perhaps though, if things begin to stabalize jumping back into the Chase Lounge may be just what the Dr. ordered. Even without Chase showing up, i'd still get a kick out of meeting you and all involved.

Thanks to you both, AJ and bloodshot, for the words of encouragement. I'm definitely not counting out doing something in the future, so it's nice to know there's still such interest from a few of you, at least. AJ, if I decide to go "public" with the soundtrack sans film, you will hear it here first, for sure.

Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"